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Thursday, August 21, 2014

Old Window Repurposed into a Chalkboard Calendar

Ever since I saw KariAnne's huge chalkboard over at Thistlewood Farms, I've wanted one. So, I was really excited when my father-in-law mentioned that he had a big, old window frame behind his shop. He also invited me to pick through his workshop for any junk I might want. Why, yes! Thank you, I'd love to!

Here's the supply list for my chalkboard calendar:

Old window frame

hardboard, cut to size

Plaid Chalkboard Paint

Minwax Fast Drying Polyurethane Spray

1" wood screws

2 picture hanging brackets

2 small cup hooks

junk piece for chalk holder

chalk

Equipment used:

cordless drill and screwdriver (used to attach hardboard to frame)

hammer (used to attach picture hanging brackets)

screwdriver (used to pry out old glazing)

paintbrush

Let's get started!

Here's the window before I began working on it. It's a little bigger than 4' x 3' and has lots of great chippy white paint. Since I wanted to make a chalkboard, I removed all 12 of the individual panes of glass, gave the frame a good scrub, and sealed it with Minwax's Fast Drying Polyurethane Spray. Easy peasy.

Since there was little structure to the frame once the glass was removed, I decided to use 1/4" tempered hardboard. It's light weight but sturdy enough to use as a chalkboard. I purchased my hardboard at Home Depot, which they kindly cut to my exact measurements. I love when they do that! It saved me so much time and was much easier to transport than the 4'x8' panel.

The actual chalkboard paint is by Plaid. I painted 2 coats and then seasoned the board with chalk before attaching it to the window frame.

This project is pretty easy once you find the window frame you want to use. The hardest part for me what finding the right spot to hang it.

I finally decided on this wall in our family room. I also added two cup hooks on each side because I thought it would be fun to hang seasonal garland or banners on it for celebrations. I couldn't help but sneak a little fall for this post.

I can't forget to show you the chalk holder. You'll never guess what this is. Give up? It's a metal plate from an old 60's iron. I deconstructed the iron when I was making my JoBots years ago and I still had a few of the leftover pieces. I did bend it to make the "tray" part perpendicular to the screw. It fit perfectly!

This is a little sneak peak at some of the other goodies I picked in my father-in-law's shop, a ring of skeleton keys. More on my picking finds later.

I hope you've found inspiration to take the old and make it new again. God bless and thanks for stopping by!